Saturday, March 31, 2012

Blogging will be light for the entire week. Will be playing host to family members from all over the world starting today .... so time will be (unfortunately) limited. Military and Intelligence News Briefs, World News Briefs, and Afghanistan War News Updates will still be posted daily at the usual hours.

On the bright side .... a number of my readers over the past few years have asked for some pictures of little old me and of Montreal .... so .... since I have been conscripted to play host and tour guide, expect a few in the next few days.

U.S. Marines cross a canal as they head to an overnight post near Khan Neshin, Afghanistan, March 23, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez

Afghan Governor 'Plotted To Kill UK Ambassador' -- The Telegraph

An Afghan provincial governor plotted to kill the British ambassador and was involved in the killing of two Americans, United States officials have alleged.

Ghulam Qawis Abu Bakr armed local insurgents with rocket propelled grenades and tipped them off about a visit to his province of Kapisa by Mark Sedwill and his French and American counterparts, a US newspaper said.

Intelligence officials discovered the ambush plan in November 2009 and the visit was cancelled the night before.

American officials are also trying to prosecute Mr Abu Bakr for involvement in the suicide car bomb killing of an American colonel and American servicewoman earlier the same year.Read more ....

Lottery ticket-holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland each selected the winning numbers for the world record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot, lottery officials said early Saturday.

Illinois' winning ticket was sold in the small town of Red Bud, near St. Louis, and the winner used a quick pick to select the numbers, Illinois Lottery spokesman Mike Lang said. The Maryland Lottery said it sold a winning ticket at a retail store in Baltimore County.

PENTAGON: Lockheed Martin scrambled today to explain the latest increases in the Joint Strike Fighter's costs, arguing that the three versions of the aircraft "will be comparable to or lower than that of the seven" older airplanes it will replace. Overall, the F-35 will cost an appreciably impressive $1.5 trillion over the 55 years it is expected to be flying, up from an estimated $1 trillion.

The latest numbers were released this afternoon as part of the Pentagon's authoritative Selected Acquisition Report. The overall value of the program comes from a Lockheed Martin statement.

YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - Nine people died and at least 70 were injured in a series of bomb explosions on Saturday in Thailand's Muslim south, the latest in a wave of violence blamed on separatists in a region bordering Malaysia, police and officials said.

Three bombs went off in the business area of the city of Yala around lunchtime, they said, adding the devices may have been placed in a car and a motorcycle.Read more ....

New ‘Trophy Video’ Recorded By Syrian Soldier Is Leaked To Activists -- The Lede/New York Times

Disturbing video posted online by Syrian activists on Friday, said to have been recorded recently in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, appeared to offer fresh evidence of the brutal crackdown by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The video, which shows very graphic images of soldiers laughing and gloating over the dead bodies of several men, was leaked by a member of a pro-government militia, an activist in the city of Homs told The New York Times via Skype. The brief clip appears to be similar to several “trophy videos” filmed by soldiers and sold to activists over the past year.

(Reuters) - Syria says the year-long revolt to topple President Bashar al-Assad is now over, but it will keep its forces in cities to "maintain security" until it is safe to withdraw in keeping with a U.N.-backed peace deal.

The agreement proposed by United Nations-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan says the Syrian authorities must be first to withdraw troops and stop violence immediately.

The army kept up an offensive against opposition strongholds on Saturday, pummelling the Khalidiya district of Homs city.

European finance ministers were warned on Friday that the underlying causes of the continent’s debt and banking crisis had yet to be resolved, as Spain, struggling to rein in its fiscal deficit, published its most austere budget since democracy returned after the Franco era.

Two confidential analyses prepared by European Union officials and distributed to ministers meeting in Copenhagen said €1tn in cheap loans to banks provided since December by the European Central Bank had provided a reprieve, but sovereigns and financial institutions needed to use the relative calm to shore up finances and balance sheets.Read more ....

My Comment: It is going to take 5-10 years of hardship and sacrifice before many of these debt ridden countries have some control over their finances. Are they willing to make that commitment and sacrifice .... I am betting that they do not have the will power to follow through.Update: Canada's finance minister is not impressed with these European measures.

(CNN) -- The lawyer for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, charged with murdering 17 Afghan villagers, said Friday the defense team has been "misled greatly" by U.S. military prosecutors, who have blocked access to information.

John Henry Browne said he was "promised" that witnesses to the incident would be available for them to interview in Afghanistan, "and they were not."

"My staff on the ground is really upset with the promise they made to us," Browne told reporters.

RAPTOR REFUELINGA Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptor moves into position to take on fuel from a Stratotanker, during a recent mission over the Pacific near the Hawaiian Islands, March 27, 2012. Air Force Academy cadets on spring break were aboard the Stratotanker to observe the refueling procedure. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth

* Gareth Williams's family believe a third party was either present when he died or broke into his home afterwards to destroy evidence * Crime scene forensic scientist’s OWN DNA was found on Mr Williams’s hand * Relatives wanted to know why the alarm was not raised when Mr Williams failed to turn up at work - by then his body was badly decomposed for analysis * It also emerged that a Mediterranean couple police wanted to speak to were irrelevant to Mr Williams’s death

The MI6 spy whose body was found locked in a sports bag may have been killed by a secret agent, his family said yesterday.

Their barrister suggested a sinister cover-up had left them with no way of knowing how and why Gareth Williams died.

One theory is that he died at the hands of a colleague. Another is that a foreign agent killed him because of his espionage work.

Journalist Blaine Harden chronicles the life of the only camp-born man known to escape a North Korean camp.

'Escape From Camp 14' A True North Korea Survival Story -- CNN

(CNN) -- Shin Dong-hyuk is the only known person born in a North Korean prison camp that escaped and survived to tell the tale.

Journalist Blaine Harden first uncovered Shin's story in 2008 and has now turned it into the riveting new biography "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West."

North Korea has been splashed across world headlines in recent weeks over its threat to launch a long-range rocket, its suspected nuclear program and for its continued defiance of the West. If you want a singular perspective on what goes on inside the rogue regime, then you must read his story.Read more ....

My Comment: Some of my father's friends experienced the same thing in a Soviet gulag .... and listening to Shin Dong-hyuk reminds me of those stories .... especially the horrible stories of what happened to their loved ones and family members.

As to what is my take .... I find all of this very disheartening. We are in the 21rst century .... and it is astounding that we do not only have a state in North Korea that treats it's citizens like this, but we are also willing to support it with food aid (which is never given to those who need it), and political recognition.

Much noise has been emanating out of Israel vis-a-vis its Iranian intentions, with some opinions suggesting an attack is imminent, while others claiming that Israel will ultimately defer to D.C., and postpone an attack, and the eventual gasoline price shock, until after the election. The truth is nobody but a few select generals, knows: in warfare surprise is the key factor, so outright flashing invasion intentions is usually an indicator of just the opposite. That said, the most recent update that Azerbaijan has granted Israel access to its airbases along the Iran border is hardly encouraging for Nobel peace prize winners and other pacifists. Yet as we have been claiming for the past two weeks, ever since the launch of CVN-65 on its last tour of duty, the true catalyst, if any, will be the arrival of the USS Enterprise at what may well be its last place of anchor - somewhere in the Arabian Sea, just off the side of CVN 70 and CVN 72 both of which are patrolling the Straits of Hormuz.

My Comment: U.S. minesweepers are only a few weeks away from being positioned in the persian Gulf. Once there .... everything will then be in positioned (and ready) to support an Israeli attack against Iran's nuclear facilities.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Fabian Aguilar and Lance Cpl. Michael Fitch II, use the scopes on their weapons to scan the area while posting security during a patrol near the Helmand River, Afghanistan, March 24, 2012. Aguilar is a assistant gunner and Fitch is a point man, both assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez

Will Afghanistan’s War End In The Same Way As Vietnam’s? -- Scott Van Wynsberghe, National Post

Massive artillery barrages and waves of tanks. That’s not the way most of us think of the Vietnam War. But so it was 40 years ago today, on March 30, 1972, when North Vietnam started the end game for its sister-republic, South Vietnam. The attack launched by Hanoi — which it called the Nguyen Hue Offensive, but was dubbed the Easter Offensive by Americans — overturned the image of the Vietnam War as an endless series of tactical raids and ambushes. What went wrong for the South back then remains ominously instructive for Afghanistan today.Read more ....My Comment: There are many differences between the two conflicts. North Vietnam was heavily supported by the Soviet Union and China .... and with heavy weapons. The Taliban do not even come close to the arsenal that the North Vietnamese had, nor do they have the material support from a major power. The North also had a comprehensive command and control structure .... the Taliban are not so comprehensive, and in fact they are fractured among many different groups.

As to similarities .... the big one that I can see is that the North Vietnamese were committed to win .... just like the Taliban are. In addition .... the North Vietnamese did have many supporters in the South .... just like the Taliban have in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan.

U.S. Army soldiers sight in their M-4 carbines on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, March 26, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

CNN Poll: Afghan War Support Hits New Low -- CNN

(CNN) - Support for the war in Afghanistan has fallen to an all-time low with the majority of Americans saying the U.S. should withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan before the 2014 deadline set by the Obama administration, according to a new poll.

The CNN/ORC International survey released Friday indicated only 25% of Americans favored the war in the Asian country. A majority of Republicans voiced opposition to it, for the first time since the war began in 2001.Read more ....

My Comment: The fighting season is going to start in the next few weeks .... expect Afghan war support to hit an even lower number.

Friday, March 30, 2012

American Crossroads, the pro-Republican super PAC co-founded by Karl Rove, is likening President Obama to a rogue James Bond in a new spoof video that seizes upon his hot mic moment with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in South Korea.

“Your mission is simple, Mr. Obama,” says a woman’s voice, channeling Judy Dench who plays “M” (the head of the British secret intelligence service, MI6) in the recent Bond films.

Has America Reported For Duty In The Resource Wars? -- Daniel McGroarty, Real Clear World

March has been a big month in the Resource Wars - the long-term scramble by the world's major powers to secure access to strategic metals and minerals essential to economic growth and national security. Exhibit A: The announcement that the U.S., European Union and Japan are initiating a World Trade Organization (WTO) action against China for its restrictive export policies on a range of technologically-critical metals know as Rare Earths.

But for all the ink it received, the WTO Rare Earths case may just be the second most important action the White House has taken this month on the strategic resource issue.

An Israeli F-16I fighter plane takes off from Ramon Air Base in southern Israel in 2008. Foreign Policy magazine reports that Israel is developing a 'secret staging ground' in Azerbaijan for a possible air attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Gil Cohen/Reuters/File

Israel, Iran, And The U.S.: Undermining An Ally, Aiding The Enemy -- Benny Avni, New York Post

A campaign of press leaks, led by some Obama administration insiders, is harming Israel’s and America’s ability to act militarily to end Iran’s nuclear quest.

Washington officials and sympathetic media plainly intend the campaign to erode public support for a military attack on Iran’s nuclear installations. But reports on Israeli military methods, capabilities and alliances are actively aiding the Iranian regime.

My Comment: Until the last day that they are in Afghanistan ... that is how long the U.S. will need Pakistan. And after that .... our concerns should only be limited to keeping the regions terrorists boxed in Pakistan, and Pakistani nukes not falling in the wrong hands.

For Pakistan .... they need a supply of weapons (on credit) from the U.S., and monies to maintain their military and the lifestyles that the generals enjoy having. After that .... I do not think that cultivating the U.S. relationship will be high on their priority list.

A group of Iranian female martial artists have hit out at Reuters over a report that allegedly described them as "assassins," saying they are suing the media organization for defamation, Iran's state television reported on Wednesday.

The Reuters report came out last month but does not appear to be available anywhere except in the form of a slideshow that does not mention the word assassins.Read more ....

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- President Obama ratcheted up the pressure on Iran Friday, deciding to implement previously announced sanctions that will be the toughest to date.

The decision declares that world oil markets can be adequately supplied even if a significant portion of Iran's 2.2 million barrels a day in oil exports is taken off the table.

"There is a sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through foreign financial institutions," Obama said in a statement.Read more ....

* President Assad has agreed to implement six-point peace plan - but says opposition fighters must lay down their weapons first * Fresh images show the flashpoint city of Homs in ruins as fighting shows little sign of slowing down * U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds talks with Saudi king to agree strategy to end the 'bloodbath' * An Arab League summit in Baghdad looks to have achieved little more than support for Kofi Annan's proposal * Washington refuses to stage military intervention for fears of sparking sectarian civil war

Syria has been ordered to announce an immediate ceasefire as fears mount that it will not honour an earlier promise to do so.

President Bashar al-Assad agreed to a six-point peace plan laid out by Kofi Annan this week - but as fighting rages on, hopes of peace are fading.

A spokesman for the UN-Arab League envoy today told the Assad regime: 'The deadline is now.'

French police commandos have arrested 19 people in dawn raids across France as part of what the government described as a crackdown on suspected Islamist militants.

The swoop came amid tension following a spate of killings in southern France by Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old from Toulouse who claimed inspiration from al-Qaida. Seven were killed in Merah's shooting spree, including children at a Jewish school. He was shot dead by police last week after a 32-hour siege at his apartment.

Malta-flagged Iranian crude oil supertanker Delvar is seen anchored off Singapore March 1, 2012. While it works to secure new supply routes, traders say Iran is steaming vessels laden with crude and condensates into Asia, where they can drain the contents into smaller ships and sell the cargoes into China and parts of Southeast Asia. One of Iran's supertankers, the Delvar, was involved in such an operation last week. The ship was first parked off Indonesia's Karimun island, an offshore storage point near Singapore that is often used for ship-to-ship transfers. A smaller, China-bound tanker, Xuan Wu Hu, pulled up beside the Delvar and loaded a cargo of condensate for Huizhou, where China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Royal Dutch Shell operate a petrochemical complex. The Delvar then moved to Bukom island, home to Shell's Singapore refinery, where it offloaded crude oil, traders said. REUTERS/Tim Chong/Files

Iran, Syria And China Oil Deal Flouts Western Sanctions -- International Business Times

Iran, Syria and China have been accused of flouting US and EU sanctions in a three-way deal to boost the Syrian regime's bank balance with oil revenues.

Iran, which has backed the Damascus government President Bashar al-Assad thoughout the year-long uprising, has provided Syria with a tanker to ship oil to a Chinese state-run importer, reports have claimed.

The move, in defiance of Western sanctions, could give the Syrian regime an £80m boost, Reuters said.Read more ....

About Me

I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.